The forest of my dreams
by Loren-Mac
Summary: A fic about Ric and Diane. I started writing it after spending time in a forest with my boyfriend and all the idea's sort of tumbled down, I've written a second chapter, but there will be more to come.. just one more chapter.
1. Default Chapter

Ric looked around the room silently for a few moments before the feeling of loneliness truly sunk in to him. Running his hand over the empty space beside him in his bed he sighed inwardly and cast his eyes onto a photo sitting on his bedside table. He had no idea why he had placed it there of all places. Every time he woke he would see it and want to cry, every time he went to sleep he would see it and dream of nothing but her. So many times had he thought of her, and so many times had he stopped himself from crying, but nothing stopped that lonely feeling in his heart. Nothing had ever compared to Diane, and nothing and no one ever would because she had been his world. He'd loved her for so long that he couldn't imagine not loving her, he'd seen her bright face every day for so long that he couldn't imagine a day without her.

Falling in love was too easy. It's amazing how fast he found himself falling in love with her, and before he knew it he had fallen so hard and so fast that he knew he could never return to 'normal'. Falling in love is so easy, falling out of love isn't.

Ever since she got with Owen, Ric had tried to tell himself that they could never be together, but his best attempts had been squashed by that loving feeling he encountered every time he saw her. When he saw her he couldn't help but be reminded of the times they had spent together, he couldn't help but feel the pain of her rejection stabbing through his aching heart.

Shaking his head he managed to turn his attention away from the photograph to the clock. The red digits informed him that it was 12:37am. He shook his head, but decided that there was no use returning to bed at the moment, and so he lifted himself from the bed and wandered into the kitchen. Pouring himself a glass of water the phone began to ring. He stood confused for a few moments, wondering what the ringing was before he realised what it was and made to pick it up.

"Hello?" He answered, trying to hide the utter suprise from his voice.

"Oh thank god you're up, Ric." Owen's voice was the last Ric had expected to reply on the end of the telephone, especially since Owen was actually relieved to talk to him.

"Well... I had just come down for a drink... what do you want?" Ric asked, being as to-the-point as possible, and he didn't really care if he sounded rude either.

"Ummm... well. I broke up with Diane, and she's gone missing. At first I thought she'd just gone out in the heat of the moment.. but she hasn't come back and I... well I guess I'm kind of worried about her." Owen was speaking so quickly that Ric barely heard a word, but he nodded silently before realising that Owen couldn't see him.

"I know where she'll be... but don't you dare tell me you're worried about her. Don't you dare." Ric whispered before putting the reciever back down.


	2. Part 2

He had left the house within minutes of the phonecall. He looked a mess, but he didn't care, he just wanted to find her and know that she was okay. His shirt was crumpled, his trousers were splashed with mud, from walking to the bus stop, and his tie was thrown casually around his neck. He carried his jacket out with him and headed towards the hire car outside his flat. He realised now how lucky he was that he highered it that evening rather than in the morning.

Once inside the car he put the key in the ignition and turned the radio on. He hated driving in silence. His anger showed through with his impatient driving, he just couldn't understand why Owen would ever want to hurt someone as perfect as Diane. Obviously, he hadn't seen her the way Ric had, or he wouldn't have left her. Ever. Ric had noticed recently she had lost her shine, she didn't seem to smile as much anymore and her laugh seemed so put on. He had seen the change come about her so rapidly after the abortion, she had seemed to go into herself more and more frequently, like a hedgehog curling into a ball from danger.He had tried to be there for her, but every attempt failed, she didn't seem to realise how much she meant to him. She was his world, his everything, and she was out there somewhere, hurting. He wanted to get her quickly and hold her until every fear and upset left her. That he was sure of, but he wasn't sure of what he actually wanted to say to her, he'd never been good with words. The only time he managed to really express what he felt was when he proposed to Diane, and that hadn't actually gone entirely to plan, since she said no. He shook his head and tried to concentrate back on the road. When he had said he knew where she was he wasn't being entirely truthful. He had an idea of where she might be, but it was no more than that.

As far as he knew, however, it was the only place that meant anything to her. She had once called it 'The forest of her dreams' for its picturesque qualities, plus it was where he first told her he loved her. It seemed a little sentimental but Diane was like that once, and the old Diane shone through sometimes. That was when he loved her the most, when she forgot everything and became who she was inside, the person who he fell for all that time ago. The one who stood out in a crowd, who meant more to him than any other woman on the planet.

He missed her, he really did, he missed her touch, her smile, her laugh and her tender kisses. She made him feel so alive when she was around and he needed her. He needed her more than he let on. Though, right now she needed him and he was determined not to stop until he found her. Never would he stop until he had her in his arms, feeling her breath on his neck. He longed for that moment.

He saw the forest drawing near and parked up behind a red car, that was hers alright. Ge peered inside to find she wasn't in there, all that remained in the car was an old magasine, a pack of polo's and a pen, that was very like her. He smiled remembering a time when she used to leave things like that in his car, it's funny how the little things seem to have the biggest effect.

Beside the forest was a lake, at this time of year it was slightly frozen over and the leaves from the trees were scattered over it, it reminded him a lot of how it was when he first went there with Diane. The slightly frosty ground beneath his feet, the partially frozen lake and the trees covered in orangey leaces. It really was a beautiful spot. Just inside the forest on the lake side was a small clearing, and that is where he found her, sitting on an old bench, shivering from the cold.

"Diane!" He exclaimed, throwing his coat around her shoulders and crouching on the floor infront of her. "I was so worried about you." She looked down at him, her eyes filled with sorrow and he just wanted to throw his arms around her and chase away all of the sadness. He took her hands between his own and warmed them with his breath, despite being desperately cold now himself. "Owen called..." he explained, as if that cleared up everything. She nodded gentlu and cast her eyes in the distance behind him.

"How did you know I'd be here?" she choked, without looking back down at him. He stood up and sat on the bench beside her, putting his arm around her to keep her warm. She didn't seem to object but he suspected that could have been due to the cold.

"I don't know... it's the only place I could think you would want to go... I didn't know really..." he faltered.

"I guess it probably is." She paused and finally looked round at him, "you didn't have to come," she commented. Really she was relieved that he had come, she needed him there by her side, he'd always been there for her when she needed him. Now she needed him so much, she felt more alone than ever, everything had gone wrong for her and instead of running to Ric she had tried to deal with it herself and pushed him away.

"I did," he nodded. He wanted to tell her he did because he cared about her so much, because he was afraid of loosing her, of leaving her with her heart broken and not trying to save her. He was no knight in shining armour, he knew that, but he would have gone to the end of the earth to make sure she was okay, and he guessed that was the best he could do.

He kissed the top of her head gently, by way of comfort, as she began to cry. Moving back around to the front of her he caught a tear with his finger and wiped it away.

"Why did I bother with him, Ric, after all he'd done to the other women?" she sobbed, wiping the tears away with the back of her shirt sleeve. Ric had been telling her for so long that he was bad for her and she'd put it down to jealousy, when really he was just being a good friend. After she'd lost Jack she had blamed Owen, but he was there for her, told her he loved her and she'd believed it. She'd always thought women like that were so pathetic.

"Because..." he started. His eyes grew saddened but he tried to shake himself out of it, "because you loved him, and love, well, love is blind". He had tried to tell himself for so long that Diane never loved Owen, but now it seemed impossible to lie to himself. Diane had loved him, and she probably still did.


	3. Last part

The impulse to reach out and touch her began to be too strong for him to resist. He knew she had just left a relationship, but he needed to touch her, to let things be like they once were, and he guessed that maybe she needed it too. Slowly he pushed her hair away from her face and, with his thumb, gently caressed her cheek. Her lips parted into an even smile, her eyes sparkling with excitement; just the way they always used to, he thought to himself.

"Whatever happened to us Ric?" She asked. His heart skipped a beat. She meant it, really meant it. For an instant his whole world stopped and all there was was him and Diane, eternally together bound by love.

"I don't know, but I'd like it… back." That's it, he'd said it and now nothing could ever go wrong because he'd actually admitted it and there was a chance that she wanted it too. She looked at him with a puzzled expression for a few moments before she allowed what he said to sink in. It hadn't been a dream, nor had she miss-heard him. He had really said it.

"We were so perfect," she finally commented, looking deeply into his chocolate brown eyes. It was neither misleading nor seducing, just a comment and that's how she wanted it to be, as she was still unsure.

"Yeah, but then I was stupid enough to propose," he added. Her heart twinged, she hadn't meant to hurt him, if she'd have truly thought about it then perhaps she wouldn't have done. Perhaps things would have been completely different, but they weren't and she couldn't go back and undo that.

"It wasn't a stupid idea, Ric," she said, hoping it would console him but she could still see the pain in his eyes. It was obvious that he'd never truly get over their original parting. "I just wasn't ready for that," she tried again. She would never have lied to him though; it just wasn't something she'd ever been able to do.

"Now are you ready?" he asked taking her hand. He looked lovingly into her eyes, just as he used to. He spoke softly with a tone of real care and compassion, just as he used to, and most of all he smiled like he used to. She hadn't seen him smile with such real emotion in a long time and, she noticed, she missed it. Yet, despite all of this the question alarmed her greatly; though she had missed all of those things she knew she couldn't launch herself straight into marriage. Everything about him made her heart race and her body shake, he made things in her head confused. She had quashed these feelings for so long just to be with Owen, and yet she knew she was not ready.

"For what?" she asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

"For us," he whispered, stroking the palm of her hand gently with his thumb as he remained holding her hand. Her heart began pounding instantly and butterflies fluttered around in her stomach. The word us was another thing she had missed. She had heard it from Owen of course, but it sounded different from his tender lips. He had not mentioned it in a long time. Not just the word or the meaning, had she missed, nor the feeling but the actual physical side of the word, the powerful force behind just two letters.

"Yeah actually… I am." She whispered, running her hand along his soft cheeks.


End file.
